For me or OP? Personally, I would take UCLA over Berkeley a thousand times. And I’m a Cal alum!
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I think OP has already decided that UCLA is her top choice among the UC’s, and there seems to be no ambivalence on that front. Some would prefer Cal, but there’s no reason Cal should automatically trump UCLA. No need to muddy the waters by questioning the clear preference for UCLA. It’s true that the Regents scholarships would save some money, but not at Cal, right?
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Actually, weirdly, Amtrak’s train service between LA and Berkely has a substantial bus component.
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I believe OP’s parents nixed Cal because of distance. They want to keep OP close to home. I didn’t mean to respond to you directly. Apologies!
For a student ordinarily getting need-based financial aid, it appears that Regents scholarships at UCB replace the expected student loan (federal direct loan) and work earnings / work-study with scholarship money.
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What I meant was, OP said she got an early offer from Cal, but she didn’t say she got Regents there (based on the post from another thread that lkg4answers quoted yesterday). She did specify Regents at several other campuses, so I’m assuming she would have stated if that were the case at Cal.
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The thread where OP posted their other UC acceptances was the UCLA thread. The date it was posted was before Regents was awarded at Berkeley. I assume OP was also invited to apply for the SEEDs Scholars program at Berkeley.
If you are interested, the difference between UC Regents and honors programs at different campuses is listed here.
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I received my UCLA award letter the other day and the net price is $11,169.
I believe the reason why I said $8k when I made this post was because I thought if I replaced the UC med insurance with my own it would lower the cost by $3k but after reading into it, it doesn’t seem to be the case (they gave me a grant to cover the UC insurance). However, if I were to dorm at UCLA I’m expecting to be placed in a classic triple which should make my actual yearly cost to maybe be close to $8-$9k since they’re assuming in the cost of attendance I chose the more expensive dorm type.
I’m still waiting for Penn’s award letter.
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My parents are surprisingly fine if I chose Berkeley (as long as it was a school in California). UCLA is my top choice out of the UCs but if I wasn’t accepted to UCLA I would’ve most likely chosen UC Irvine because of the regents scholarship over Berkeley (where I didn’t receive the regents invite). Also, based off of the other schools that gave me regents, I’m predicting UCI would be the cheapest option.
A little side info but I did consider USC but was accepted as a spring admit. I read that the spring admit experience isn’t that great and I wanted to have a fall freshman experience so it was off from my final two choices.
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My understanding is that many spring admits at USC are quite happy with their experience. The university does a lot to integrate spring admits when they arrive on campus.
Is that the only reason you didn’t want USC? Are the financials any better for USC than for UCLA or Penn?
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I went to USC for a summer program but the area surrounding it wasn’t exactly my favorite let’s say… I’m expecting the costs for USC to be around the same as UCLA but more than Penn as I haven’t received my award letter either.
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That makes sense!
Wishing you well! I hope you get the rest of your financial aid awards soon.
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You know, you’ve not been to Penn. It’s very urban.
You don’t know that you’d like it.
That you like UCLA says a lot - Penn isn’t Westwood for sure.
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I did like the urban setting of the USC area but I was referring to the incidents that occurred while I was on campus due to its location in downtown LA. Not so sure if Philadelphia is like that (which is why I wanted to go visit) and I’d rather see it personally myself but that was my experience and thoughts while staying at USC.
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Penn is in a fine area called University City, not far from the historical center and with many walkable areas of its own - neither North Philly nor the Mainline.
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Actually, of the schools you were admitted to with Regents, Davis would have been the cheapest. Their Regents award is $7500/year. Housing is also cheaper in Davis. UCSB, UCSD and UCI Regents are all $5000/year. Berkeley is $2500/yr. All of those are minimum awards and can go up based on a student’s financial need.
Were you invited to apply for the SEEDs Scholars Program at Berkeley? If so, did you apply?
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I applied and was selected for an interview but didn’t receive the scholarship. I didn’t think too much about it because for early admits, their required response deadline (if chosen to receive the scholarship) was before many private schools’ decisions came out which I disliked and I felt would’ve placed pressure on me to commit to Berkeley.
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MagicBirf - good luck with your choice. I think you will do great no matter what you choose.
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My kid is finishing up their first year at Penn. I know it is not a visit but I am sure they would be happy to talk with you and answer questions.
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Here’s the interesting thing. Your parents want to keep you at a leash’s length. I get that, as parents, we want to be able to get to our kids, if they need anything.
But, from my university experience as well as our children’s experiences, the time spent on campus/school was all encompassing.
A lot of “living” on campus occurred in class, labs, dorms, study groups, tutoring, campus jobs, laundry and quiet study.
They came home for two holidays, and oftentimes, not even that because they were busy with research or jobs.
My point is that if your parents believe having you stay near “home” will be just like high school, and they’ll see you more often, then that’s not going to happen. They have some growing up to do. It’s going to hit them hard because they’ll be unprepared with the expectations they’ve already set for themselves.
You’re going to be busy keeping up with the academics and the specific requirements you need to complete at those schools.
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